Marie Sklodowska Curie

She was born November 7, 1867 in Poland. When she died on July 4, 1934, she was perhaps the best known woman in the world. Her co-discovery with her husband Pierre Curie of the radioactive elements radium and polonium represents one of the best known stories in modern science for which they were recognized in 1901 with the Nobel Prize in Physics. After the sudden accidental death of Pierre Curie, Marie Curie managed to raise her two small daughters (Irène, who was herself awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935, and Eve who became an accomplished author) and continue an active career in experimental radioactivity measurements. In this account we concentrate on her connections to the national radium standards of the United States. More details on the life of this extraordinary scientist are given in "Madame Curie," the 1937 book by Eve Curie.